Time is now for immigration bill

Thursday

Jun 27, 2013 at 2:43 PM

It’s hard to imagine a better time than right now to pass comprehensive immigration reform in Washington.

Jimmy BurlandBaton Rouge

It’s hard to imagine a better time than right now to pass comprehensive immigration reform in Washington.The Gang of Eight bill, a bipartisan effort led by four Republicans and four Democrats in the U.S. Senate, has the overwhelming support of Louisianans, according to a poll just released by the Partnership for a New American Economy, the Alliance for Citizenship and Republicans for Immigration Reform.Specifically, 70 percent of Louisianans polled said they strongly or somewhat support the bipartisan immigration reform legislation being debated in Washington.Moreover, 80 percent of those polled said they strongly or somewhat support a bill that includes a tough but fair path to citizenship and 63 percent say they are more likely to vote for an elected official who supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship.Those numbers clearly show a distinct advantage to our U.S. senators if they support the proposed legislation.Time is of the essence.If our elected leaders are going to move this country forward by modernizing our broken immigration system, they must do it now — and there is strong support in our state for this.An overwhelming 86 percent of the likely voters surveyed in the poll believe it is important to pass this legislation this year.I encourage Sens. Landrieu and Vitter to do everything they can to help pass this bill as soon as possible.